Known platform weight scales of this kind are formed of a casting consisting of two relatively displaceable parts capable of limited articulated movement with respect to each other, one of the parts constituting the platform designed to receive the object or person to be weighed and the other part constituting the remaining portions of the casing. Displacement of the platform with respect to the remaining casing portions, under the influence of the weight of an object located on the platform, is transmitted to a weight sensing mechanism located within the casing and this in turn gives rise to a visible display of the weight. It will be readily appreciated that, for accurate weighing, the displacement of the platform, as transmitted to the weight sensing mechanism, should be as far as possible a predetermined, invariant function of the weight applied to the platform. For this purpose, it is important that the casing as a whole, and in particular the movable platform portion thereof, be formed of a rigid, non-distortable material and it is for this reason that such casings, or at least the movable platforms, have been formed of metal. Furthermore, the requirement to have a casing having two major, relatively displaceable components has inevitably reduced the possibilities of producing casings of reduced heights.